Royal challenge

Many Congresspersons, from S.M. Krishna to Veerappa Moily and Virbhadrappa Allam, are keen on a Rajya Sabha seat from Karnataka. Although the Congress has 80 newly elected MLAs, it is assured of only one RS seat. The party will have 35 surplus votes, but it needs ten more to get a second MP elected to Rajya Sabha. There is no prospect of securing votes from either the BJP or Deve Gowda’s JD(S), with 26 and 28 surplus votes respectively. In a scenario where none of the three main parties is prepared to make a deal with the other two, a candidate will probably have to tap individual MLAs for support rather than appeal to the party leaders. Liquor baron Vijay Mallya is believed to have an edge in this regard.

Cricket vs hockey fans

They may live in Delhi, but the Gandhi family’s loyalty is to the Kolkata Knight Riders and not the Delhi Daredevils, because of its friendship with the team owner, Shah Rukh Khan. During the IPL Rahul, Priyanka, Robert Vadra and their children were at the Kolkata stadium cheering the Knight Riders. In fact at the recent Rajiv Gandhi Rural Cricket Tournament in Amethi, little Rehan Vadra was seen sporting a Knight Riders T-shirt. Rahul, who organised the cricket tournament in his constituency, was as a young boy more fond of football. But he has now become an enthusiastic follower of the national sport. One politician who dares to profess openly his disinterest in cricket is Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He prefers hockey, a game he played as a young boy. Once, when Singh commented on his indifference to cricket, BCCI vice-president and Congress MP Rajiv Shukla remarked as an aside: “That may be the reason I have not been made a minister.”

Brahmin rule continues

Minister of State for Surface Transport K.H. Muniyappa rushed back to Delhi from Bangalore on the very day of the counting for the assembly polls. His trip was to canvass support for the post of president of the Harijan Sewa Samiti, held earlier by the late Nirmala Deshpande. It is a coveted position since the head of the venerable organisation founded by Mahatma Gandhi gets several perks, including a house in Delhi. Muniyappa, a Dalit, nevertheless lost out to S.K. Malaviya, a Brahmin. Sonia Gandhi instructed all members of the board, including Muniyappa, to vote for Malaviya.

Family problem

The media speculates on whether Sharad Pawar’s nephew, Ajit Pawar, or daughter, Supriya Sule, will inherit his mantle. Most forget there is another Pawar, nephew Abhijit Pawar, also in the reckoning in the NCP’s power structure. Abhijit is managing director of the Sakal group of newspapers. The publishing house last month launched an English edition from Pune. The Sakal group has ambitious expansion plans. It has bought two Goa newspapers and plans to open English editions from several cities. The Pawar family could learn from the experience of the DMK. Karunanidhi’s sons led the party, while his nephews, the Marans, managed the media empire. The two branches of the family fell out over the control of the latter. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhar Reddy, on the other hand, has kept media control within his immediate family. Two months back the CM’s son Jana Reddy started a Telugu daily, Sakshi, which claims an amazing two million-plus print order. The newspaper, which comes out from 23 districts, has been carrying reports against rival newspaper owners and political opponents from the TDP. Sakshi, which has already incurred huge losses, is subsidised, according to the TDP, by businesspersons who have funded it in return for favours from the state government.